Housing prices have tremendously appreciated year-over-year and have surpassed all median home prices for the county since 2008, closing out 2013 at five-year highs. Orange County’s median home price in August 2014 is $595,000, an increase of $10,000 over the previous month’s median and an increase of $55,000 since the previous September. Median home prices are likely to conclude 2014 at over $600,000.

Average apartment rents for Orange County have spiked with housing price growth, with an average of $65 higher rents in 2014 compared to the previous year’s equivalent average. The Orange County average rental rates in October 2014 recovered from the previous month’s drop, returning to a county average of $1,826. On a per-city basis all but Anaheim saw slight increases, with Irvine and Santa Ana increasing their citywide average rents the most.

Building permit activity in September 2014 is below the previous year, with only 488 permits granted during the month. Unlike previous months, Irvine constituted only 25 percent of countywide permit activity, while Fullerton, Tustin and Anaheim saw notable new activity during the month.

Orange County’s median home price is compared to other regions, showing
the year-over-year and month-over-month change in value.

Source: Dataquick

Average
Apartment Rents Orange County and by Major City

This indicator shows the average apartment rent for major Orange County
cities and for the county average as a whole. The county average as a whole
is not the average of the seven cities shown in this chart but for all the
cities in Orange County.